


Captivity

by TwoCrows



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Ambiguity, Cruel fate, Gen, Hope and Despair, Prison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-29 00:21:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16252790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwoCrows/pseuds/TwoCrows
Summary: Locked inside a prison without escape, with just the perspective of lifelong bondage, she still refuses to submit to the inevitable.





	Captivity

“Let me out!”  
Again, she slammed her fists against the iron.  
“Let me out!” she shouted angrily.  
The warden only paid her a resigned look, before he left her.  
“Hey! Come back, you…!”  
She continued her screaming and hammered against the hoops that surrounded her, until her hands were bloody.  
As her fury vanished, she sank to the floor, one hand clawed into the metal, and felt the tears streaming from her eyes.  
“Damn… Why? Just why?”  
A loud caw caused her to raise her head. A crow was sitting on the ledge across her and examined her with clear interest.  
She felt her anger return.  
“Just go away!” she shouted and slammed against the cage. The crow seemed unfazed and just tilted its head.  
“What are you doing here? Checking out your next meal?”  
She let out a hoarse laugh.  
“Not with me!” She shouted. “I’m getting out of here! Just watch me. I’m not going to end up between your beaks!”  
The crow cawed again, before it soared off, leaving her alone again. 

After they had hauled her into the black tower, they locked her in one of the iron cages that hung down from the outside of the tower walls.  
It was a perfect prison.  
She was locked up one hundred feet above the ground, with just enough space to stand or sit. The only connection to the tower was that heavy chain her cage hung on. The cage was empty, except for her and a little pail which she could use to relieve herself. The other cages she could see from her position were all empty, so the only creatures that provided her with any company were the many birds that visited her in her solitude.  
She had begun to envy them. They could just fly around in the sky. No shackle was binding them. No cage was holding them captive. In the long hours when the icy wind blew mercilessly through her cage, she dreamed of having feathers that kept out the cold, of having wings that would carry her through the air… Of being free to fly away from here.  
Their company was somewhat soothing. She wondered why. She had never taken much interest in other creatures, not even in humans. But these birds did have something that filled her heart with joy. Even in the dark nights, when she could barely see the faint moonlight shimmering through the heavy clouds or the very cage that imprisoned her, even then she found solace in their presence.  
They fed her twice every day. Of course it would have been easy to just let her starve, but apparently they didn’t want her to die that soon. The warden who brought her food was always the same short, young man. Apart from him she had only seen one other warden when she was brought here. It seemed they were enough for the prisoners they kept here.  
Of course. Nobody could escape these cages and handing out the food was not a hard task. It was delivered with a long staff which the warden shoved through the hoops.  
Once she had tried to grab the staff to hit the warden with it or maybe to pull her cage to the wall, so she could jump out as soon as she had opened it, but the man had only laughed at her.  
“And what are you going to do after that?” he scorned.  
Of course he was right. She couldn’t think of any way that would get her out of there. But still, she refused to give up. As long as she kept her will up, she would live on even in this accursed cage and she would find a way out. 

Although life in her prison was tedious and uneventful, it was not without surprises.  
She woke up and found it to be a chilly morning. Her whole body was feeling numb as usual, but the rising sun cast its fiery rays over her body and she already felt a little warmer. Even the sinister tower appeared friendlier in the orange light.  
She stood up and stretched her limbs as far as she could in that limited space in order to cast out sleep and coldness. The birds were also there, sitting on the stone wall and enjoying the warmth. She closed her eyes and smiled at the display of comradeship among them.  
What would she give to be one of them now? Able to stretch her wings and feel the sunlight as she soared across the sky…  
She looked at them again and waved them closer. As usual they didn’t respond.  
How cold of them, she thought, but nevertheless she couldn’t help but smile again. When she felt warmer, she sat down and continued to observe them.  
After a while she noticed they looked different. Maybe it was because of the light, but she could swear they had sprinkles of a different colour on their feathers and also on their beaks. She inspected them closer, but realisation just struck her when one of them flew right past her cage and joined the others.  
She let out a loud scream.  
It was blood.  
It was blood! They actually had blood on their beaks!  
Probably it was one of the other prisoners who had died and was pecked apart by them. But she had never imagined that they would…  
“Don’t tell me you viewed them as friends”, a familiar voice said mockingly and let out a short laugh.  
She looked up.  
The short warden sat in a window above her and watched her amused.  
“They are only scavengers that feast on what is left of those who die up here. They have no sense of loyalty or companionship. They would probably even eat up each other as soon as they’re dead.”  
Embarrassed she turned away. He was right. She did think of them as friends and she was angry at herself that he had seen through her this easily.  
“What are you doing here, anyway?” she asked to change the topic. “I don’t get to eat for another two hours, right?”  
The man pondered for a while, before he said: “I am here to see the sunrise. Such a magnificent view is rare at this place and my duties can wait for a while.”  
Then he smiled mischievously.  
“Of course you don’t miss a single sunrise up here.”  
Slowly she was getting angry at that impudent boy.  
“Maybe you want to switch places with me?”  
“Ha! Nice try”, he laughed. “No, I think I’ll just stay here and watch you a little.”  
“Whatever”, she muttered and turned her back to that idiot.  
But she had to admit it was a magnificent sight, the wide landscape glowing up in that red-golden light. It reminded her of the view from her favourite hill at home.  
“You are really amazing.”  
Confused she looked around, but there was nobody there aside from the warden.  
“What do you mean by that?” she asked. His intent gaze was making her feel uncomfortable.  
“You’ve been locked in there for weeks, you’ve been unable to move properly, and yet you can still smile.”  
She didn’t know what to reply. That strange attitude caught her completely unprepared.  
“It’s been years since…”  
He paused and his gaze was getting even deeper. Then it was over and he hopped to his feet.  
“Hey!” She shouted angrily. “Finish your sentences if you start them, will you?”  
He turned his head to her and said lightly: “It’s been years since I’ve met a prisoner who was this foolish.”  
The young man smiled innocently. “Well then, hang on.”  
Before she could answer he disappeared into the tower.  
“Save your dumb jokes!” she shouted after him angrily, but he was already gone.  
Her hands tightened painfully around the iron hoops.  
It was disconcerting how easy that boy had unsettled her composure.  
Furiously she kicked against the metal. 

She shivered.  
The wind was howling around the tower and tugged at her soaked clothes. The storm had begun in the early morning hours and now, at noon, there was no end in sight. Usually the roof of the tower provided adequate shelter against the rain, but now the drops whipped almost horizontally and all she could do was curl up and try to preserve as much of her body heat as possible.  
It didn’t help much.  
The icy coldness had already penetrated her body. She even began to lose the feeling in her arms and legs. The birds were all gone too. Probably they were hiding where it was dry and warm.  
She felt so alone.  
Even though they were only cruel scavengers, the birds were the only company she had up here. Nobody else was there. She cried, out of her suffering and frustration, although it didn’t matter with the rain streaming over her face.  
Why did she have to end up in this accursed place?  
Was this the fate that had been determined for her?  
If so, then she couldn’t feel anything but hatred for the gods or whoever was responsible.  
What in heaven’s name did she do to deserve this?  
What was the reason?  
Was there anybody out there who could tell her?  
Suddenly something knocked against the iron hoops.  
She looked up and saw a piece of cloth hanging from the tip of a long staff. She followed it to its other end where the short warden stood.  
“Would you please take it off?” he shouted with a strained voice while he struggled against the heavy wind. “This is not easy here.”  
Dazed she took off the cloth and stared at it. It was thicker and warmer than her own clothes and it would hold off the rain much better. She tried to thank him, but her lips didn’t respond and all she brought out were a few quivering sounds, before he disappeared back into the tower.  
With numb hands she wrapped the coat around her and curled up tightly in her little cage.  
After a while she felt a little warmer. 

“It is no use. You’re not going to leave this cage.”  
“Your opinion doesn’t matter” she replied.  
She was kneeling on the floor, her eyes closed, and let the light of the morning sun shine on her.  
“I wish to see my family again, my parents and my brothers, and the village I grew up in. No matter what you say, you won’t break me.”  
She heard a quiet snort from behind.  
“That way of thinking is just foolish.”  
She let out a sigh and turned around. He sat on the ledge with crossed arms, his back leaning against the wall and tried to look uninterested.  
“What is foolish about that?” she asked. “Don’t you have any family you’d want to see again?”  
He turned his head to her. “I’m an orphan. I never got to know my parents. The only family I had was my little sister.”  
“Was?”  
For a moment his facade broke and she could see a glint of pain in his look, but he quickly turned cold again.  
“She died of an illness two years ago.”  
He made an angry face.  
“Don’t give me that sympathetic look.”  
“I’m sorry”, she said and turned ahead again. “I just didn’t think you could also have trouble in life.”  
“Just shut up”, he muttered and they fell into silence.  
This man was still a mystery to her. On the one hand he was as cold and distanced as she expected a prison warden would be and seemed to find pleasure in taunting her. But on the other hand he had a kind and friendly side, though he tried to conceal that with his heartlessness. He had come to visit her more and more often. Mostly he just sat around and remained silent, but sometimes they would talk a little, like today.  
Maybe this was the right moment to ask the question that was on her mind most.  
“Why do you come here?”  
She expected him to brush her off with one of his jeering comments, but to her surprise he answered seriously.  
“Hmm… Why? Maybe… There’s something different between you and the other prisoners I’ve seen so far. That shimmer in your eyes…” He made a thoughtful pause. “Maybe you could help me to find the answer that I seek.”  
An answer…  
This might be the last chance that she would get.  
Slowly she turned around.  
“I am going to die”, she said calmly.  
For a moment he looked as if she had slapped him. The look of his shaken face caused her to smile faintly.  
“It is just a matter of time”, she continued. “Maybe I’ll die before you find your answer. To be honest, you are the only way for me to get out of this cage.”  
He leaned back and raised his eyes to the sky, an unreadable expression on his face. For a long while he didn’t move. Then he replied in a grave voice: “Things are the way they are. Neither you nor I have the power to change them.”  
Lifelessly he got to his feet and turned towards the long stairs leading downwards.  
“Just to make one thing clear”, he said with a last glance from his cold eyes, “I’m not here to help you. All I want is to see how that shimmer of yours disappears.” 

She stared up to the grey-clouded sky. The winter had begun and it promised to be a hard one. She felt sad to see all of the trees shedding their leaves, but she knew the course of nature could not be changed.  
Since their conversation, the young warden had been rather taciturn. Aside from the food times he only visited her occasionally now. His coldness had hit her harder than she had wanted to admit.  
Why was she still this foolish?  
He had warned her not to view the birds as friends, and yet she had started to like him.  
He was a prison warden. She just hadn’t wanted to acknowledge this simple truth.  
Her gaze followed one of the crows that flew around the tower.  
“Not long…” she muttered weakly. “You don’t have to wait much longer.”  
There weren’t many of them anymore. Most had left to seek refuge in the warmer lands to the south. She already felt lonely as the wind wailed through her cage and the frost crept into her bones. She didn’t understand why. She had received another coat, and yet she didn’t grow any warmer.  
She wondered what her family was doing now. Her brothers were surely missing her. Hopefully they didn’t do something reckless and try to search for her.  
“I am sorry”, she whispered.  
Then a heavy cough shook her body and she pulled the cloth tighter around her.  
She heard footsteps. After a few moments her usual cup of food was placed next to her, but she didn’t look at it.  
“I guess you won”, she said aloud, but only the wind answered. Without a word, the man walked away.  
And again she was alone. 


End file.
